Disabling trackpads/touchpads on MacBooks

We've recently had a few patrons report that the trackpads on our laptops have been acting "squirrely." I watched the patron use the computer for a little bit and learned that the cause of the erratic mouse cursor was none other than what I've called Lazy Wrist.

Much like a piano, orthodox typing posture suggests lifting the wrists away from the keyboard. If the wrist slouches it tends to brush the trackpad while the computer user is typing. Trackpads response to touch, or heat, and the wrist is just as warm as the fingertips. When a patron is innocently typing away at an important e-mail, a job application or their revolutionary manifesto, they might find that the cursor has sprung to a different part of the webpage, and that they've been pouring out their literary genius into the address field of their web page instead of the proper text field.

If this happens to you, or a patron, you might consider disabling the trackpad. Note: The laptop must have an external mouse attached to it. If you disable the trackpad and the laptop has no external mouse, there will be no way to move the mouse cursor.

Instructions (in Windows):
1) Click the 'Start' button
2) Scroll to 'Settings' and then click 'Control Panel'
3) In the 'Control Panel' window, double click the 'System' icon.
4) The 'System Properties' pane will open up. Click on the 'Hardware' tab.
5) Under the 'Hardware' tab click on the 'Device Manager'.
6) Once in the 'Device Manager' find the 'Mice and other Pointing Devices' label and click once on the + icon next to it.
7) Right-click on the Apple item, and left-click 'Disable'

Remember to restart the computer afterwards. Not only does this clear the user's internet history and cache (and logs them off of any online accounts they had logged-in to) but it will also reset the disabling of the trackpad.

Number Keypad on the Patron Desktops

QUESTION: How to make the number keypad on a MAC keyboard always do numbers?

ANSWER: The CLEAR key which is above the 7 digit of the number keypad performs like a Num-Lock key on other keyboards.

This seems very simple, but the patron and I were puzzled by it for a minute.

cool blog--Boing Boing

If you’re looking for a good resource to stay up to date on tech issues and would like to be entertained while you do so, you might want to check out boingboing.net. It’s a blog with 5 or so regular staff writers that covers lots of tech issues and products, science developments, critiques of the media and various other cultural ephemera.

The blog covers such a wide variety of issues that you might be wondering how it could possibly apply to libraries…well...in addition to the general tech stuff, probably most pertinent for library staff is boing boing’s excellent coverage and analysis of copyright and intellectual property issues in the digital environment. Cory Doctorow is a well known authority on the subject and a regular contributor to boing boing (he’s also a sci-fi author--Little Brother, For the Win are two of his YA books). You can pretty much count on him for a daily update on the constantly shifting and unsettled subjects of fair use, intellectual freedom, privacy and informational transparency among governments and corporations. Behind all the content that we consume, there is a giant struggle going on regarding who owns the content, how it can be used, and who can use it. Doctorow’s articles and analyses on these subjects are always informative and well-considered. Plus, he’s also a big proponent of libraries and librarians!

I’ve heard that this is one of the most linked-to blogs in the world; probably because of the eclectic nature and breadth of subjects covered. So stay “in the know” and check it out!

One site for various e-book formats

I know that many of the Russian staff have been at a certain point approached by a patron who has has an e-reader, does not know what to do with it, but wants to read Russian books on it. Many of such readers are brought from Russia or Europe and some support formats we have never even heard of. What can we do?

Well, we can use Calibre (see my previous posts)... But if the patron is unwilling to understand how Calibre works, there is another means.The good news (especially for e-readers supporting extremely obscure formats) is that now there is an official Russian language site http://www.litres.ru/ where one can find legitimate books in a variety of formats.

This is just a short list of formats available for the same title on the site: rtf.zip ,txt ,txt.zip ,fb2.zip ,epub, html.zip ,a4.pdf ,a6.pdf , java, doc.prc.zip ,rb ,lit ,mobi.prc ,lrf ,isilo3.pdb .

I also have to mention that this is an online bookstore . However, their e-books are quite inexpensive (under $5 average), besides it might be a very good solution for someone who wants to read Russian e-books in the US and does not want to get into technical details

Places to stay on vacation

Here are just some fun sites to look at if you are needing a place to stay on a vacation. I have used VRBO and had very good luck. The others I have not tried.
1)VRBO (home and apt rentals long and short stay)
2) Homeaway (family home rentals)
3)Airbnb (like ebay for rentals)
4)Roomorama and I stopover (you can make specific requests, like type of food or if you have pets etc)
5) Luxehomeswap (for very expensive homes)(membership fee)
6)Room 77 (shows you the hotel floor plans, pictures, reviews and what your view will be from different rooms in the hotel) (kind of fun)

Device to recharge your devices on the go

Also in Travel and Leisure (June 2011). They talkd about a new rechargeable backup battery you can use with your computer and handheld devices. Features a "micro-usb and apple connector to recharge your devices on the go". "No outlet necessary". It's called Powermat Power Dual 1850". Haven't looked into it yet but seems like it could be useful especially if you travel a lot.

share your photo's

While reading Travel and Leisure magazine, they had a piece on a new free photo sight called "Photo Rocket". Photo Rocket uploads pictures to your social network sights simultaneously when you upload your photo's for yourself. It's susposed to work for Windows, Mac and I phones. Go to www.photorocket.com

Stanford offering course in develpoing Iphone Apps.

I heard on NPR radio the other day that Stanford University is now offering a free course on developing apps for I phones. It's through "itunes u". to go look at the class information go to www.stanford.edu search for free classes and find class "there's a class for that: free download of iphone apps course.

Are SmartCars Making the Road Dangerous?

I read an article in today's Denver Post telling me that consumers are wanting, expecting and demanding more technology in their cars. We have all seen the way drivers slow traffic and are dangerous while using their cellphones. While there are now hands-free options in many vechicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2009, 5,474 people were killed in accidents reported to involve distracted driving.

Even the voice-operated actions such as answering a phone call can be detrimental to a driver's safety, warned Kevin Hobbs, VP of marketing and communications for AAA Colorado.

Kia has partnered with Microsoft on their new hands-free entertainment system. Mercedes offers SplitView, which lets the driver pursue navigational data while the passengers watch a DVD on the same monitor. ( Certainly there will be no temptation by the driver to watch the movie.) Ford offers Sync which includes the service of getting updates on your car's overall health. Future plans involve car-based computers reaching out to other vechicles on the road and presume to offer safer driving. There may be ways to post to Facebook and Twitter or text-message someone through voice activation.

The car manufacturers are looking into social media as the next logical step in Internet friendly car interiors. I just wonder, at what cost?

A Poem Worth Reading

I thought this was a very nice little poem and wanted to share it with you, guys:

The Libraries Didn’t Burn. By Elaine Equi.
Despite books kindled in electronic flames.
The locket of bookish love
still opens and shuts.
But its words have migrated
to a luminous elsewhere.
Neither completely oral nor written —
a somewhere in between.
Then will oak, willow,
birch, and olive poets return
to their digital tribes —
trees wander back to the forest?

Equi, Elaine. “The Libraries Didn’t Burn.” The Libraries Didn’t Burn- Poets.org – Poetry, Poems, Bios & More<. Poets.org, 2011. Web. .

Google Chrome

I have discovered the world of Google Chrome for myself when Katya Dunatov recommended it for me as a faster browser. I started to explore its features and was very pleasantly surprised to discover that the URL line could be used for searches, that this browser not only recognizes the page in a foreign language, but it automatically offers to translate the whole page (machine translation, of course :)). But one of the coolest features is that one can do searches not by typing the question, but saying it - Google Chrome employs speech recognition technology! I also found that Google Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in malware and phishing protection, auto-updates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the latest security updates.

Checkout this website for computers

This is a website with easy to understand computer tips, computer basics tips, computer problem solving, computer help, Windows tips, all with step by step instructions, plus you can watch video tutorials. I have found this site useful in learning more about computers. A good site to suggest to patrons that need help with their computers. http://tips4pc.com

Using the forms option in Google docs to keep track of your reading list

I came across this interesting blog regarding keeping track of books you've been reading and although the blog is in relation to summer reading list context, I thought it might be a great option to offer to our patrons other than the "turn on reading list", feature available to ALD card holders through their online library account.

Here's the article link and it is titled - Track summer reading with Google Forms
http://currix.com/blog/how-to/summerreading/

Programs and classes at a particular ALD branch

Most of you may already be familiar with this shortcut. After showing several parents who diligently attend our Summer reading programs featured for children, I thought I might share this info here too. If a patron wants to know about upcoming programs and classes at your location, the fastest way to get to that info is to click on "Locations and hours", page on the ALD website and click on "programs and classes", as that will pull up porgrams and classes for that particular branch.

There is no need to go through the cumbersome process of unchecking all the various boxes that appear on the left side of the screen when you click on the regular "programs and classes", link on the website. Several patrons remarked to me that they see Programs and Classes and click on that right away as one would not know that the Locations page would also have additional links.

Using the language option on Google

We get patrons who come from various language backgrounds using MA library computers.
Several of you may be familair that gmail has the language option, where the patron can use the pull down menu and make a language choice by clicking on the language option. This in turn will then allow the patron to use the regular keyboard with English letters to type an email in the language he/she prefers. For eg: when Russian is the language chosen from the pull down menu, a patron can type, "dasvidhanya", and it will convert it into that word in Russian lang script. This feature allow anyone who can speak a language type out that language word in English and it will perfectly transliterate that into the language chosen. No more toggling back and forth between Russian and English on keyboards.

Not Quite 100 Articles Every Librarian Should Read

At her blog Librarians Matter, Kathryn Greenhill is starting a collaborative project, gathering a list of 100 articles that are must-reads for librarians. She's started the list with about 40 of her favorites. It looks like a very cool list. Some of her additions are Austalian-focussed, but most of them are applicable to us all.

Some of the topics that are included are: Digital Rights Management, eBooks, digital services, copyright, and the Internet and the semantic web. I am bookmarking this list!

Another 23 Things

Are you excited by this Tech Talk blog and interested in learning more at your own pace? I just found out about a free, self-paced "23 Things" challenge that anyone can participate in!

Every week, the folks at 23 Things for Professional Development will introduce a new tool or question or challenge to explore. As part of the challenge, you are invited to create your own blog (instructions included!) and post your responses to the weekly challenges there. You can read how other participants are doing, and comment on their posts.

The "things" are a mix of tech tools and other, more general professional-development exercises. You can find the whole list here.

This 23 Things challenge is based on the original 23 Things challenge (which was more tightly focused on tech tools and skills only) at the Charlotte-Mecklinburg public library five years ago.

It starts today, and runs through September. I definitely see things on their list that I have been wanting to play with, such as Prezi and Evernote, plus tools I've never heard of (Mendeley?), and I love that they are encouraging participants to think about how these tech skills fit into the bigger picture of our jobs and careers. I am hoping to jump in when I get back from vacation in July!

Tumbling into Tumblr

Just for fun, my daughters and I are participating in 30 Days of Creativity this year, which challenges participants to make something every day in June. I wanted a way to keep track of all our projects, and thought that was a pretty good excuse to explore Tumblr.

Tumblr is kind of a hybrid between Twitter and blogging. It's called "microblogging" and the emphasis is on making it super easy to blog and share quick, short posts. Rather than starting with a single blank post template to which you add video or photos or links (like Blogger), Tumblr starts you with a set of options depending on what you want to share:

Each option takes you to a different form to fill out for that type of media or post. Tumblr takes care of all the formatting for you! They have a bookmarklet you can put on your browser, so when you are on a website you'd like to share, you can just click on the button and it will pop open a form to fill out. And it even "knows" what you are selecting and opens the appropriate form! If you have highlighted some text before you click the bookmarklet, you get a Quotes form to fill out. If you are on YouTube, you get a video form. Very cool!

It's also very easy to blog via your mobile device. There's a Tumblr app, and you can take photos and send to Tumblr in just a couple of steps.

So that's the "blogging" part of Tumblr! The "Twitter" part of Tumblr is that once you have your blog set up, you can find and follow other people on Tumblr. Their posts show up in your feed just like on Twitter, and you can "like" and "share" posts from other Tumblrs on your own Tumblr.

I am pretty busy on GoodReads, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging networks, so I'm not really interested right now in finding and following others on Tumblr. I am loving Tumblr even without the network aspect, though, because it is so easy to use and is clean and simple in look and feel. I think their "Archive" page is especially well designed. Rather than a list of links, you can see a montage of all your posts for the month. It's a fun way for the girls and I to look at our growing list of projects!

Build a website

Thinking about setting up a website or a blog? My son recently showed me what he used to create his new website. www.weebly.com was named one of TIME's 50 Best websites. You use drop and drag templates, information is a cinch to enter, you can upload pictures and best of all it's free. Sounds like a commercial, I know! but I was very impressed when he took me though and showed me how easy it was to build a website. I just may give this a try!

Russian fonts for NOOK

Many patrons ask how to read Russian books on Nook and why is that even though one can easily download books on Nook, one can only see ?????? instead of Russian letters.

The answer: because Russian fonts have to be embedded to be seen on Nook. Even though the word "embedded" does not mean much for the most of us, if you follow very simple instructions in Russian here http://ru-nook.livejournal.com/ (see post #3 by axelrat) you will be able to help a patron see Russian fonts on Nook.

QR Codes - Journey Continues

My personal journey on QR codes continues. Since ALD joined the Handheld Librarian IV virtual conference I logged in for the session "Libraries and QR codes". A lot of information was presented such as where they were originated from, history behind them, the benefits and challenges associated with using QR codes, how they could be used both in libraries and outside libraries, and a lot more. Did you know that conventional barcodes could hold 20 to 40 characters while QR codes could hold up to 7,089 characters? Did you know that conventional barcodes could store information only horizontally while QR codes could store information both vertically and horizontally? Did you know that in Canada they started to use dynamic QR codes for passport applications? These dynamic codes change instantly before your eyes while you typing your application. At Kentucky State University library they have already started to use QR codes. They are also considering using them for library directory and as a tool for Reader's Advisory - for example, scan the book's QR code and get attached information on similar books. I enjoyed the session very much.

IP Address Crisis

I just read a fascinating article on the billions of IP addresses available on the internet, and how they are quickly being used up. It's coming down to a crisis situation rapidly, as new systems are being developed to provide endless IP address options. With so many users accessing the internet, these addresses are being used up exponentially faster than it was thought possible. New systems are being created to curb this problem by Yahoo, Google and Facebook in an unprecedented cooperative venture!

Companies Join Forces to fix internet's biggest problem in decades.

A banned Book

A patron came to ask about a book. He gave me the tittle: The Fortunes and Misfortunes, what was a part of it, as I know now. About the author he knew he is a famous early English novelist and his name is Daniel. After some steps of searching I learned that the book The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is known under an alternate title: Moll Flanders. Published in 1722, Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders was one of the earliest novels. The book dramatically depicts the life and misadventures of a young girl, who becomes a prostitute. The book has been challenged on sexual grounds.I got the answer searching: Classic Literature: Moll Flanders and banned books Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe. A few more steps and we were sure that was the right book.
Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe
Oxford University Press
The patron was happy and it was great experience of learning more about Banned Books and Censorship. Using computer technology helps a lot.

Incredible Numbers!!

I just visited the Apple Store at the Cherry Creek Mall to inquire about the new 4G Iphone in white!!! After several inquiries and to expand on Sharon's numbers, I was told that you can have up to 330,000 apps!! That's right, I know it sounds unbelievable but if anyone knows different please do not hesitate to post. In fact, I asked three times to verify his answer and he said, sure!!!

popular Russian formats for e-books

As some Russian speaking PSS have already probably noticed, many Russian speakers come to the library with questions about their e-readers : mainly how they can use them to read books in Russian.

It is important to know that the leading e-book formats in Russia are at this point fb2, djVu, RTF and html. So for e-readers such as NOOK or iPad, etc., a question arises - how to view and read these books.

The answer is simple - these formats should be converted into the format readable by most american readers, which is e-pub. Here you will see how one can do it using free software Calibre
http://www.macdigger.ru/macall/konvertaciya-v-epub-kak-konvertirovat-pdf-html-doc-v-epub.html

Fb2 format is not mentioned in this article, but from my own experience with Calibre I can tell that it converts into e-pub just as well through this software.

An Apple a day!

Yesterday Steve Jobs announced that his company will be joining the the "cloud" era. With iCloud, content such as music and documents is stored on large servers instead of personal hard drives- and is accessible from anywhere via the internet.

One of the perks is the new iTunes function that lets people download songs to as many as 10 devices at no extra cost.

Scott Forstall, Apples' senior vice president of iPhone software, said 25 million iPads have been sold and more than 14 billion apps have been sold throught the App Store. The latest operating system, iOS 5, allows owners to set up and activate their devices without being connected to a computer. That software will ship this fall.

Source: Denver Post Business Page, June 7, 2011

Malware Prevention?

Being recently infected by Malware or something like it...I learned that if you want to close out of something that shows up on your screen, you can hold down CRTL,ALT, Delete(all three keys) not just "x-ing" out. A Task Manager box will pop up. If the program you want to end is not highlighted, highlight it. Click on "End Task." Hopefully, this will help you prevent Malware from getting YOU, too. If anyone can help me prevent this from happening again, I would appreciate any information. FYI...I was browsing popular sites...Google and Bing for Free ClipArt.

NL Tech Talk Winner for the month of May

It’s time to announce the NL Tech Talk Winner for the month of May. We had some excellent discussions and discoveries this month. I love seeing what you are learning and applying to your lives and to serving our patrons. It was a tough call this month because we had so many excellent posts and comments, but the final decision is in and this month’s winner is Iryna Baum of MA Library.

Iryna’s post, entitled “I recently discovered this cloud website” jumped off on the concept of cloud technology and reminded us of another way we use clouds. The judges also liked that this post inspired Kathy Carter at KE to use the website Iryna referred to in order to make a sign at Kelver for her display. We like that the learning from one staff person transferred to another and then was used to benefit our patrons.

So congratulations, Iryna B! A $10 Amazon gift card is coming your way.

June starts a new month. To shake things up this month, I’ve asked the Neighborhood Libraries supervisors to be the judges this time. We won’t know what catches their eye until it’s caught! They will announce their choice at our team meeting on July 6th. Keep those posts and comments and applications of technology coming!

I'm just sayin'

This weekend my son came for a visit. We started talking about books and what we have been reading. He sounded somewhat apologetic when he told me he had read a book on his IPad and quite liked it. I am not at ALL opposed to e-readers or reading on any digital device. I just love that people are reading. I do still prefer the actual paper book, but I don't doubt that may change in the future. That said, please take a look at this article to see what this writer has to say about the downside of e-books. ( How did he know my views?) Please note, that my son took several of his books back to NY that totally disrupted my decorating!

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/ebooks-not-there-yet/

What is overclocking?

My new word of the day:

Overclocking is the process of running a computer component at a higher clock rate (more clock cycles per second) than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, usually practiced by enthusiasts seeking an increase in the performance of their computers. Some purchase low-end computer components which they then overclock to higher clock rates, or overclock high-end components to attain levels of performance beyond the specified values.

And, of course, the commercial sector has a solution: a fan.


When it comes to making sure that you have the fastest rig in the market compared to the rest of your mates, surely overclocking your computer processor as well as other chips that are able to be overclocked is a great idea – but there is always the downside of voiding the warranty should something go awry, not to mention a higher level of power consumption. Oh yeah, there is the other problem that might literally get too hot to handle – the heat that builds up within a chassis due to an inadequate cooling solution.
Enter the NZXT Havik 140 CPU cooler which is actually a high-performance CPU cooler that comprises of 6mm heat pipes, in addition to dual standard 140mm fans and expertly engineered fan blades that will be able to offer unparalleled cooling performance. Not only that, Havik 140’s fan blades were specially designed to slice through the air with little or no effort at all, helping maximize ventilation (90.3 CFM) at drastically reduced noise levels (25db).

Commercial Sector apps

In the Feb 2011 "Computers in Libraries" Daniel Chudnov at the Library of Congress writes:

...the commercial sector isn't like ours, where we try to sustain services even if they cost a great deal just because they're fundamental to our mission. For companies such as Yahoo! and hundreds of smaller companies with Web 2.0 apps we've grown to depend upon in the last 5 years, when the money stops flowing, or even when their subscriber growth rates slow, hard decisions have to be made. Few companies will keep a losing product alive for long.